The buzz, the euphoria and the expectations for the 2024 general elections in Ghana have so far largely focused on the main contenders of all the major political parties expected to participate in the polls.
Read full articleIn the ruling party, there are many permutations and campaigns being rallied around either the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, or any of the other many options for flagbearers in the New Patriotic Party.
This is more so too because President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will no longer be constitutionally eligible for the high office.
The opposition National Democratic Congress’s John Dramani Mahama has his shoes already laced, hoping for another bite at the presidency but he is not in the clear yet as it appears other interested persons are also preparing to throw in their bids to lead the party into the elections.
But there seems to be a significant aspect of all of these that has been easily overlooked: the First Ladies.
The wives of the presidential candidates who could be on the ballot sheets on December 7, 2024, deserve a spotlight and while it is quite disappointing to say that as of now, there appears to rarely be any strong female names aside from Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, wife of the former President Jerry Rawlings who may also vie for the presidential slot, GhanaWeb throws a spotlight on a list of persons who may have the chance to be the country’s next First Lady after Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
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Samira Bawumia
Without much of an introduction, Samira Bawumia, who currently occupies the office of the Second Lady of Ghana, is one of the main contenders to be looked out for.
Known commonly for always turning heads and making the boldest fashion statements, here is a short profile Samira, Ghana’s next possible First Lady:
Samira Bawumia was born on August 20, 1980. She is a Ghanaian politician and the Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana. She is married to the Vice President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia.
Samira started her early education at the Answarudeen Islamic School at Fadama in Accra, before continuing to the Akosombo International School (AIS) and then to Mfantsiman Girls' Secondary School at Saltpond in the Central Region.
At the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), she studied BA Social Science in Law and Sociology and Technology. At the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Relations (GIMPA), she has been adjudged the Best Student in Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Mrs. Bawumia is the Ambassador for the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and joins former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Academy Award-winning actor Julia Roberts,and Grammy-nominated musician Rocky Dawuni to work with the Alliance and its partners to raise awareness of household air pollution and encourage broader adoption of clean cooking solutions in developing countries in a bid to create cleaner environments and eradicate deaths caused by pollution from the burning of solid fuels for cooking.
She was acknowledged in 2019 and the first among seven others to be honored by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll) in conjunction with Ashden. This was in recognition of her efforts towards the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which is to ensure access to modern reliable, renewable and affordable energy for all by 2030.
Samira is the founder and CEO of the Samira Empowerment & Humanitarian Projects (SEHP), a not-for-profit organization established to empower the underprivileged in Ghana through diverse social intervention projects to improve lives.
She donated library books to the Police Basic Schools in November 2019 to encourage and instils the habit of reading in children. This initiative was a part of her "library in the box" project.
Lordina Mahama:
Nearly like the first possible First Lady on this list, Lordina Mahama, who is married to Ghana’s former president, John Dramani Mahama, was once the Second Lady of Ghana.
She, like her husband, quickly rose to the highest office of the land after the sudden death of the late John Evans Atta Mills in 2012.
Lordina Mahama left office on January 7, 2017, but with her husband looking to return as president, she could just return to the high office she once occupied. Here is what we know about her:
Lordina Mahama was a former Second Lady of Ghana from 2009 to 2012 and then became First Lady of Ghana from 2012 to 2017. She is the wife of the former president of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, the fourth president of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
She was born and raised in Nkoranza, Brong-Ahafo Region.
Lordina is married to John Dramani Mahama and together they have five children: Shafik, Shahid, Sharaf, Jesse, and Farida.
She speaks English, Hausa, Dagbani, and Twi fluently.
She attended the Anglican elementary school and then proceeded to the Ghana Secondary School in Tamale, where she met her husband John Dramani Mahama.
She has a degree in Hospitality Management and a Masters in Governance and Leadership from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
She also acquired a Master of Laws (LLM) in Business Law/International Business Law from the De Montfort University in the United Kingdom in 2019.
She served as Second Lady till July 2012, when she became First Lady of Ghana.
As First Lady she worked as an HIV/AIDS advocate, breast and cervical cancer advocate, and an advocate for orphans and alleged witches. She worked with the Ghana AIDS Commission and other agencies to bring integrated HIV and AIDS, Sexual Reproductive health, Breast, and Cervical cancer services to Ghana.
Lordina set up Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) to empower women as well as represent Ghana at forums to discuss issues relating to women and children.
She was the vice president for the West Africa Region of OAFLA in June 2015 and was elected President of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA).
She was honored at the 50th International Women Luncheon of the Rainbow Push Coalition which took place in Chicago (USA).
She ensured, during her tenure that girls were immunized by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance against HPV to prevent cervical cancer and other diseases.
She represented Ghana at the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Stop Cervical, Breast, and Prostate Cancer Conference.
Lordina adopted 6 orphanages and one witch camp as focus facilities for her donations while still contributing to other orphanages.
She also led initiatives to provide food, housekeeping items, clothes, and other basic necessities to orphanages and witch camps in Ghana.
She has a foundation, the Lordina Foundation which has touched the lives of many and makes donations during festivities. The motto of the Foundation is "The more we share, the more we have".
She has an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, by the President and Trustees of the Fordham University, an award for the campaign for cervical cancer, Maputo, Mozambique, an award for cervical cancer advocacy, Windhoek, Namibia, was inducted into the Global Women Leaders Hall of Fame, was enstooled as Sompahemaa of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, with a stool title (Nana Akosua Fremaa Ampomah Sika I) among others.
Patricia Christabel Kyerematen
In the NPP, one of the names that is widely rumoured to vie for the position of flagbearer of the party, and eventually run as president, is Alan Kyerematen, who is the current Minister of Trade and Industry.
He is married to Patricia Christabel Kyerematen, who very little is known about.
She was born Patricia Christabel Kingsley-Nyinah, as the daughter of Justice Joseph Kingsley-Nyinah, Ghana's Electoral Commissioner during the 1979 presidential election.
They have two children - Alexander and Victor.
Nana Akosua Fosuah
A man who has, in the last few months, been touring the country and putting his face out there for the NDC is a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor.
It would seem that just as nearly-private as Dr. Duffuor is, his wife appears same.
If her husband become president, Nana Akosua Fosuah would be Ghana’s First Lady from January 7, 2025.
Together with her husband, they have five children.
Anita Ayariga
Anita Ayariga is the wife of the founder of the All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga.
Hassan Ayariga was initially with the People’s National Congress (PNC), which he represented at the polls in 2012, but left to form the APC ahead of the 2016 election.
Anita Ayariga attended the Achimota School and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where she studied Graphic Design. She is also a businesswoman.
She and her husband have three daughters and two sons.
